show_and_strike_week epitome of incomprehensibility Today was the last dress rehearsal for Pirates of Penzance! (I_joined_a_band_of_musical_pirates.) Tomorrow is a break, and then... -a show Thursday evening -a show Friday evening -a show Saturday afternoon AND evening -a show Sunday afternoon And then Concordia University's TAs (teaching assistants) and RAs (research assistants) are also on strike starting tomorrow. I'm not a TA anymore, but I'm still part of the union because I had a contract less than a year ago. I said I'd help out at the picket lines. Not because I have to, but I guess I feel...solidarity? I mean, for me, the agreement already reached is OK. Retroactive raise, retroactive pay. But then for RAs the salary is still so dismal. Only $19 and a bit for undergraduate research assistants. That seems unfair, so...yeah. I'm helping out, even if it's only walking around with a sign. ...But why in the world did I agree to show up at 8 AM tomorrow? (Because I was feeling more solid solidarity before, more selflessness: I knew it wasn't the most popular time.) So, to bed. To rest. To hope. Solidarity with the people of research assistance. 250311 ... raze i'd say, "break a leg," but i don't want you to get hurt. so instead i'll say i hope you have the best time singing and being your spiffy self. (i'd say, "knock 'em dead," but then you'd have a whole mess of problems you don't need. why is every play-related good wish so violent?) 250311 ... e_o_i Thanks for the good wishes!! Don't worry - even my literal-minded self won't take such phrases as an injunction to injure myself or the audience. Just the scenery. I'll chew the scenery. Nom nom nom. ... Today I waved a flag that said "On Strike" and talked to two people doing PhDs in education. Discussed language arts (e.g. English) classes, whether students should pick more of their own reading or have everyone read the same thing. I think a bit of both. The taller woman talked of a study concluding that the more books students read of whatever genre, the better grades they got. She says it makes sense, but she questions the spin the author had: despite all the shiny quantitative methods, this author ignored the "correlation doesn't equal cause and effect" thing you get taught in social sciences 101. "Yeah, maybe it's because kids who read more have richer parents who can afford more books," I ventured (and rich parents can afford better food, private tutoring, etc. - other things that explain the better school outcomes). "Yeah, that's a good example," said the person doing the PhD in the thing, and I felt momentarily smart. I dropped my gloves twice, though. But gloves are very droppable. ... About the musical again, I'm less nervous about opening night tomorrow than Saturday. It's not just that Saturday is "hell day" (the director's words) with two shows. It's also that everyone is going to the afternoon show. Not everyone in the world, just -my mom -my dad -my brother -my mom's friend -my mom's church minister -my childhood best friend -her partner You know, all the people that might notice if I, I don't know, drop something. Luckily my character IS the absent-minded one. 250312 ... e_o_i (Okay, there WILL be more than 7 people in the audience. I just mean all the people I know well or well-ish are going on the same day. Oh well. Well well well welly wellington wellburton.) 250312 what's it to you? who go blather from